Passing on Dance: Practices of Translating the Choreographies Of
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
E‐ISSN 2237‐2660 Passing on Dance: practices of translating the choreographies of Pina Bausch Gabriele Klein Hamburg University, Hamburg – Germany ABSTRACT – Passing on Dance: practices of translating the choreographies of Pina Bausch – This text aims to analyze the process of passing on choreographies, as exemplified in the work of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. It presents this process as a praxis of translation. The paper discusses the limitations and possibilities of translating choreography, as well as the specific potential inherent and visible in practices of translating choreographies by Pina Bausch. From a philosophical and sociological perspective of translation theory and based on a methodology of the ‘praxeological production analysis’ (Klein, 2014a; 2015a), I’m using data gathered during rehearsals and two years of interviews with dancers and collaborators of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. The text will demonstrate that the translation of choreographies is characterized by a paradox between identity and difference. Keywords: Dance Theatre. Translation. Identity and Difference. RÉSUMÉ – Partager la Danse: pratiques de traduction dans les chorégraphies de Pina Bausch – Ce texte cherche à analyser le processus de transmission de la chorégraphie en l’abordant à partir de l’exemple du Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch et en présentant ce processus de transmission comme une pratique de traduction. Les limites et les possibilités de la traduction de la chorégraphie sont discutées ici, ainsi que le spépotentiel inhérent et visible dans les pratiques de traduction dans les chorégraphies de Pina Bausch. Dans une perspective philosophique et sociologique de la théorie de la traduction, et reposant méthodologiquement sur ‘l’analyse praxéologique de la production’ (Klein, 2014a; 2015a), le texte utilise les données recueillies par Klein lors des répétitions de l`ensemble et pendant deux années d’entretiens avec des danseurs et des collaborateurs du Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. Il démontrera que la traduction de la chorégraphie est caractérisée par un paradoxe entre identité et différence. Mots-clés: Danse-Théâtre. Traduction. Identité et Différence. RESUMO – Transmitir a Dança: legado e tradução das coreografias de Pina Bausch – O texto analisa a transmissão de coreografias a partir do exemplo do trabalho do Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch – processo apresentado como uma prática de tradução. As possibilidades e os limites da transmissão da coreografia contemporânea são aqui discutidos, bem como os potenciais inerentes às traduções de coreografias da forma como o Tanztheater Wuppertal e a Fundação Pina Bausch as praticam. A partir de teorias filosóficas e sociológicas da tradução e com base em procedimentos metodológicos da “análise praxiológica de produção” (Klein, 2014a; 2015a), trato neste material de dados coletados e avaliados durante visitas a ensaios e em entrevistas realizadas com bailarinos e funcionários do Tanztheater Wuppertal durante mais de dois anos. O texto pretende demonstrar que a transmissão de coreografias é caracterizada pelo paradoxo entre identidade e diferença. Palavras-chave: Teatro-Dança. Tradução. Identidade e Diferença. Gabriele Klein - Passing on Dance: practices of translating the choreographies of Pina Bausch 393 Rev. Bras. Estud. Presença, Porto Alegre, v. 8, n. 3, p. 393-420, July/Sept. 2018. Available at: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2237-266078975> E‐ISSN 2237‐2660 Passing on dance – this practice is a central topic of discussion in contemporary dance. With the rise of modern dance at the beginning of the 20th century, in so-called post-modern dance of the 1960s, right up to contemporary dance since the 1990’s, the virulent question has been how to preserve and pass on choreographies that are intricately bound to the subjectivity, the life experience of the dancers and the individual style of a distinct choreographer. Unlike in visual art, a ‘work’ of dance is closely tied to the individual author, the choreographer and the dancers or to the dancing body itself, which makes it visible and discernible. In contrast to theatre, which, like dance, is a time-and-space based art that only exists in and as performance, modern and contemporary choreographies have no literary text as a baseline to be translated into a theatrical language or context. Moreover, the difficulty in passing on contemporary choreography and dance is that – unlike classical ballet or modern dance – they are not based on a specific dance technique. And unlike in classical ballet, most of the choreographies are rarely notated in ways that allow for reconstruction. While methods of documentation on film have developed parallel to modern dance since the beginning of the 20th century, the quality of the film material is quite diverse. Dance videos are to a large extent neither systematically available, nor were they originally produced with the aim of using them for reconstructing dance. Last, but not least, few are archived accordingly. These fundamental problems in passing on choreographies have become all the more evident since the beginning of the 21st century – due also by the deaths of globally influential choreographers such as Maurice Béjart, Merce Cunningham or Pina Bausch, who worked with their companies for decades. The question is and has been whether and how their paradigmatic and pioneering artistic works could be preserved by passing them on to other companies or to younger dancers in their own companies – or simply by archiving them. Some choreographers emphasize the ephemeral character of dance and the cultural-historical framework of their choreographies, which do not allow for musealization. Merce Cunningham, who passed away in 2009, e.g. arranged for the Merce Cunningham Company – originally founded in 1953 – to go on a two-year tour after his death and then be dissolved1. The Cunningham Dance Foundation’s estate and the rights to his pieces were then transferred to the Gabriele Klein - Passing on Dance: practices of translating the choreographies of Pina Bausch 394 Rev. Bras. Estud. Presença, Porto Alegre, v. 8, n. 3, p. 393-420, July/Sept. 2018. Available at: <http://seer.ufrgs.br/presenca> E‐ISSN 2237‐2660 Merce Cunningham Trust, which grants leading dance companies the rights to perform Cunningham’s works, thus allowing his choreographies to be passed on. The legacy of Pina Bausch, who also passed away in 2009, is another matter. In her work, passing on the legacy is not simply an enormous and daunting task that her company, the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, was confronted with upon her death. For years, passing on material was an integral part of her work, and that of her assistants and the company. Passing on roles, scenes and solo dances to new and younger dancers, or pieces to other companies such as the Paris Opera (Sacre du Printemps and Orpheus and Eurydice), or to ‘amateur dancers’, as in the case of Kontakthof (1978) to younger and elder people, and finally also the passing on of her art to other media, such as movies (feature films like Klage der Kaiserin and documentaries), all these acts of passing something on were a central part of Pina Bausch’s artistic work and that of her dancers. How is dance material passed on and what happens in this process? These are questions concerning all artists responsible for such processes. Issues such as the aesthetic limitations of translating choreography, as well as methods and means of translation have also become an important subject of discussion in dance studies itself. While the debate in the field currently focuses mainly on archiving dance, cultures of memory and forms of remembrance (Brinkmann, 2013; Cramer, 2009; 2013; 2014; Thurner, 2010; 2013; Wehren, 2016), this text seeks to explore practices of passing on dance, as exemplified in the work of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, as well as to define passing on dance as a praxis of translation. The text will discuss the possibilities and limits of translating contemporary choreography, as well as the potentials inherent in acts of translation as practiced by the Tanztheater Wuppertal and the Pina Bausch Foundation. My findings suggest a systematic analysis of artistic processes based on empirical research – coming from the perspective of a sociology of art and using the methodology of “praxeological production analysis” (Klein, 2014a; 2015a). The term production here includes – similar to an extended concept of performance – the relationship between text (the choreography) and paratext (booklets, interviews etc.), text and context, the piece and its framings. And it addresses the relationship between process and product, between methods and the piece itself. Production analysis therefore Gabriele Klein - Passing on Dance: practices of translating the choreographies of Pina Bausch 395 Rev. Bras. Estud. Presença, Porto Alegre, v. 8, n. 3, p. 393-420, July/Sept. 2018. Available at: <http://seer.ufrgs.br/presenca> E‐ISSN 2237‐2660 emphasizes the work process, which is not merely understood as piece development, but also as a specific artistic, as well as a social and cultural practice. From the perspective of praxeological production analysis, the questions of how, when, where and what are central for the production of the aesthetic. With the help of this methodology, I have generated empirical material gained from interviews with dancers and associates of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, as well as from observing rehearsals. This text is based on the analysis of this data. What Does It Mean To ‘Pass On’ Material? The practice of passing on artistic material is like the popular children’s game Chinese Whispers2 where you pass on information from mouth to ear. The last person in line then says out loud, what was whispered in his or her ear or rather what he or she understood. It’s a funny game. What usually happens is that the sentence changes a lot during the process of passing it on. But at the same time, it’s a very serious game, because it demonstrates how information is based on subjective perception, as well as how it is distorted in the process of being passed on, especially when something is misunderstood or consciously altered before being passed on.